Chapter 9

Time had passed. Hajime, Kaori, Shizuku and Yue had grown closer and closer with each boss fight they had undergone and each moment of peace used to get to really know each other. With Yue's metamorphosis, she gained an appreciation for monster meat, though she still liked drinking Hajime's blood. The difference being that Kaori's and Shizuku's blood became almost as attractive as his merant that she also sucked their blood a lot.

They also gained an improvement in magical casting, Yue and Kaori developed a mini-rivalry over their magical prowess. Said vampire atavist also taught Hajime how to use magic with visualization and without chants. Hajime taught his old(er) companions how to in turn. This usually was how they learnt combat earlier in the past- Shizuku would teach Hajime how to use a sword, and Hajime would teach Kaori what a shield can do to enemies in the right situation. Kaori, in the meanwhile, taught Hajime the advanced spells that he couldn't use earlier.

Yue, on the other hand had to be taught how to survive using physical combat- Her magical prowess meant that her tutors wouldn't teach her much in physical warfare. For a princess, that meant almost certain death- since her combat prowess was cut in half. As practical as Hajime has become due to the Pits, he wouldn't let that stand. Therefore, he taught her how to fight physically. He may have told her that it would help when she had to face shameless perverts once they got out, something that motivated her ass into gear.

At the 75th Floor, Yue was possessed by a plant monster due to some problems between vampires and humans (which is why vampires drink blood). Hajime solved the problem by shooting the Dryad (as they called it), but for some reason decided to collect and keep the spores.

As they grew, their stats also increased. Hajime was currently a level 79, and his stats matched that, each of them being at least 8000. His focus was on Strength and Agility, which gave him enough firepower to overwhelm his enemies at 9500 each, and his lowest stats were Magical Defence and Defence- considering his aggressive style of combat, not too much of a problem.

Shizuku, his second-in-command, was just behind him, with 9500 sunk into Agility and Defence each. Her weakest was Magic and Endurance at barely 8000 each, but that didn't matter much.

Kaori, the tank and his public relations manager (lol), excelled in Defence and Magical Defence, weak in Agility and Magic, surprisingly. That was probably because she was the tank of the group. She didn't hit 9000 on any of her skills, but that makes her more balanced anyway.

Yue didn't know her numbers, but Hajime roughly estimated her abilities based on her old best and current best. He decided that she had stats close to 5000 on magic and magic defence and 450 on the others because of said combat inefficiency. Of course, over time, she improved to the point where she hit a balance, similar to Kaori, but about 1000 points lower.

All of them were capable of hand-to-hand, weapon-based and gun-based combat. That was a basic requirement for the group, since they knew that they needed more than the four to get home and get the others home as well. Yue knew about their past, and ironically solved their trust issues with the others- simply by saying that they didn't necessarily need to help them all the time, just in times of extreme need. Perhaps instilling a need to get stronger to gain comrades, but the few they could trust as the core of the group.

Anyway, they had reached the end of the 100th floor of the labyrinth, where the boss was lying in wait. They had no delusions of an easy win, so they prepared to fight for their lives.

When they entered the Boss room (which looked opulent, a white marble room with multiple pillars in the sides and golden highlights), they were wary. Then a white dragon with 5 heads showed up from out of nowhere.

Naturally combat begins. Shizuku's slashes and Hajkime's gun-kata, as he called it, didn't deal any damage. Yue's magic proved ineffective, while Kaori's Barrier Magic was barely holding the now-named Hydra back.

Things continued in this vein for some time. They were growing tired, and cutting off the head, while possible, proved ineffective. Hajime then remembered the legends regarding the Hydra from Earth.

Though that did bring its own problems.

"Yue! I need redirection! Work with Kaori and Shizuku to bring the heads together in one line, NOW!"

Yue was concerned, but she knew better than to argue- when Hajime innovated a new combat move, he tested it immediately.

Yue relayed the order to the best friends,and they worked together to do their best at what he said.

Meanwhile, Hajime was focusing on his Jobs. As he did so, he realized something- he never reached the true potential of his new powers. Slowly, he smiled a manic grin, and waited while charging two different elemental magic of his own creation.

BY the time they were done, he was fully charged up. He leapt above the centre head, and then called out his two spells with half of each part of mana-

"Lightning Slash! Flame Slash!"

While both manifested elemental blades slashed towards the 3 heads on each side, he initiated a dropkick on the centre head, and called out a new spell with the remaining charge of mana-

"LIGHTNING FLAME DECAPITATION"

All three attacks landed at once, decapitating heads on either side. The central head, however,was barely bleeding by that attack. Hajime jumped back, and recovered from the mana drain, while Yue , Kaori and Shizuku landed a devastating attack on the last head. Due to the nature of lightning and fire, he cauterized the stumps on the other six heads, stopping the regeneration skill that it possessed.

He still didn't lose heart though. In fact, he actually looked positively gleeful. Yue, who had just launched a Black Hole to absorb the flame attack of the Hydra, just stared at him in disbelief.

"Kaori, Bind it! Shizuku, use Shadow Dance on the point I just attacked! Yue, coat the sword in fertilizer! NOW!"

The trust they had in him was the only reason they followed his orders immediately. Yue coated the blade in fertilizer while Kaori used her Chain Bind on it. Shizuku executed a Shadow Dance, successfully inserting the fertilizer into the bloodstream of the beast.

Almost immediately, flowers burst out of the Hydra's head, surprising everyone bar Hajime. Said unsurprised person immediately gestured with his hands , pushing both palms forward. Immediately, the Hydra severed its own head, also leaving its meat behind.

What was left was a grinning Hajime, a confused Yue, and two shell-shocked demonized humans.

After a 5-minute rest, Hajime recovered his mana, Yue sat down to recover from the exertion, Kaori managed to reboot her brain and did the same to Shizuku's brain

The two had become lesbian lovers around the 62nd floor, due to realizing already that Hajime was going to officially start dating them at the end of the True Labyrinth. (Now, imagine a kiss between them, and you now know how Kaori rebooted Shizuku's brain) At the same time, they decided to attack the unsuspecting boy in the next relaxation spot after they finished.

Well, I think this is a good piece of work, if I do say so myself. Leave a comment in the reviews about my combat narrating skills, pls. Like I said, I am planning on putting up an original fiction.

To clarify one point, Hajime did burn the plant monster down, as in canon. What he didn't do in canon, was search for the spore sacs that it possessed. That would allow him to easily tune said spores to his mana, after which he just needs to plant them in an enemy.

How did he create his own original spells? That is going to be explained in the next chapter.

That's it then. I decided to keep to a chapter a month on random selections of which fic to update, so toodles till then